Tiger women face questions after season fizzles out
Back in January, not many would have predicted a first-round WNIT exit for Missouri women’s basketball.
The season came to an abrupt end this week for a program which had high expectations after winning its first eight games of the season. Head coach Robin Pingeton looked like she had a team that had the chemistry and skill suited for the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers’ early season win streak came to an end against then-No. 5 Baylor on the road on Dec. 4, but even that loss felt like a moral win simply because of how close the game was throughout against a tough opponent in a true road game.
The first sign of trouble was Missouri’s puzzling 79-51 defeat in the following game at Missouri State. The Tigers seemed lethargic and exhausted in a game where they were outscored 47-17 in the middle two quarters. But they rebounded, and strung together some quality wins against Southern, Alabama A&M and Illinois.
The pinnacle of the season was undoubtedly the stunning upset over No. 1 South Carolina. Lauren Hansen’s go-ahead layup with 0.1 seconds remaining handed the Gamecocks their first and only loss in the regular season — and Missouri did it without its star player, Aijha Blackwell, who was in COVID-related protocol. The Tigers had just three available players on the bench, but somehow managed to stick with South Carolina and win it at the buzzer.
That win marked the first of seven conference victories for Missouri, but looking back, it probably needed just one more to earn a tournament bid.
The latter part of the season was highlighted by off-the-court issues. Entering its game at No. 21 Georgia on Feb. 13 on a three-game losing streak, Blackwell was left home after failing to meet team standards and expectations. After a 74-49 blowout loss, Pingeton said she'd revisit the situation with Blackwell and see if she’d be available in the next game against Mississippi State. Blackwell did play — albeit, off the bench — but got 30 minutes and scored 14 while grabbing 18 rebounds in the 76-66 win to snap the four-game losing streak.
Things seemed to be back on track. But before Missouri’s penultimate game of the regular season, Blackwell was again not available. This time, LaDazhia Williams, Kiya Dorroh and Skylah Travis weren’t either. Blackwell, Dorroh and Travis were cited with marijuana possession on MU’s campus and were out in violation of team policy.
Thursday’s loss against Drake in the WNIT was a microcosm of the season as a whole. After a fast start, it looked like Missouri was prepared to make its case for why it deserved to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers went on a 10-0 run to start the game and led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter. But Missouri shot just 16.2% from the field in the second quarter, including 0-7 from 3-point range, and entered the half down by one. In the third, the shooting improved but the Tigers just couldn’t string together any sort of run and trailed by three as the fourth quarter began. Blackwell scored 16 points in the fourth and helped send the game to overtime, but Missouri couldn’t get over the hump and lost 83-78.
A fast, optimistic start was followed by mid-game struggle. The comeback effort was there, but Missouri just missed out on advancing.
That’s exactly how this season has gone: An 8-0 start and a win against the best team in the nation was quickly forgotten as midseason slumps and non-basketball issues brought the team further and further out of the postseason conversation. It nearly brought itself back in with a win at Florida in the last game of the regular season and a close game against Arkansas in the second round of the SEC Tournament, but ultimately, it came up just short.
“It’s hard to get to the postseason,” Pingeton said after the Drake loss. “We made such great strides this year. Nobody knows what goes on in our locker room, nobody knows what goes on in our practices, but these girls continued to show up. They showed great resiliency. They continued to battle. These girls have worked their tails off, [but] they’re not satisfied. But I can assure you, we understand what this offseason needs to look like.”
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